Wasting food in America; a permanent U.N. Security Council seat for India; the defeat of Proposition 24

Food and its costs

Re “If you buy it, eat it — all of it,” Opinion, Nov. 7

Jonathan Bloom suggests very practical steps that individuals can take to stop wasting food (and therefore energy and money). But if we really want to get serious about preventing food waste, we need to look beyond individual households to how our food is produced and marketed.

The New York Times ran an article last week exposing how the same government agency that should be promoting public health is also working with industry to develop markets for excess dairy products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been promoting dairy consumption by running advertising campaigns; it teamed up with Domino’s to increase the amount of cheese in some pizzas by 40%.

As an individual, I am doing everything I can to prevent waste. I would like my government to stop promoting consumption that leads to disease and waste.

Janina Moretti

La Jolla

Bloom touches on markets and restaurants that toss out food. He does not address the fact that they do so to adhere to a strict set of quality standards. Failing to throw out aged products could result in a business violating health codes.

Bloom makes a powerful statement that 40% of the food produced in the United States isn’t consumed. This statement is so monumental and abrupt for the reader that I found it shocking that Bloom fails to reveal anything more about this particular statistic. I feel that the author’s argument would have benefitted from expanding on this huge claim.

Jenn Winkler

Newbury Park

The way Bloom presented the problem about wasting food is very simple. Most of us know not to waste food, and we also know of ways to address the problem.

But by assuming, apparently, that we all care about the environment, he makes his point but avoids the real question: How many of us will make the effort to actually change habits that are determined by ideologies?

Natalie Alvarado

Reseda

I’d like to see the figures on the losses to growers, food processors, grocery stores, restaurants and the trucking industry if we cut our food purchases by 40%, as Bloom suggests.

Herb Stewart

Fullerton

India’s role in the world

Re “Will India step up?” Editorial, Nov. 9

The Times writes that India is deserving of a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council under certain criteria, but that it fails in the area of world leadership because of its non-critical acceptance of the military rulers of Myanmar and of the Islamic clergy in Iran.

Are the present members of the Security Council such paragons of virtue? The U.S. and Britain are one-time imperialist powers that invaded and brutally occupied Iraq. The U.S. has supported right-wing dictatorships. China is the poster child for human rights violations and is a world-class imperialistic power.

Compared to other Security Council members, India is a shining light.

Sanjoy Shome

Claremont

Personally, I have no problem with granting India a permanent seat. In terms of priority, I find the mention of the question by President Obama to be butter-up diplomacy. To paraphrase Langston Hughes, the “darker brother” remains unwelcome at the table.

Europe, for example, has three seats. As long as Africa, the second most populous continent, remains essentially powerless and unrepresented internationally, equality is a farce.

A rotating seat, as is done in the European Union, would engender diversity and would be a step into the future, wherein the West’s domination would diminish. It would be doing the right thing, which the West is always touting itself as doing.

F. Daniel Gray

Los Angeles

An unhealthy trend in the U.S.

Re “Frugal trend raises health fears,” Nov. 9

It’s not only about mammograms and colonoscopies. High deductibles and co-payments discourage people from getting care for hypertension, diabetes and many other serious conditions that do not produce pain until it is too late. We live in a culture that bashes HMOs and notions of government becoming more involved in healthcare, but forget that these types of financial barriers in many of our current insurance systems have become the most draconian and senseless gatekeeper of all.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Americans spend $700 billion a year on tests and treatments that do not improve health outcomes. It is a shame that as a country, we opt to use indiscriminate economic blockades to poorly cut down on costs rather than deal with the fundamental problem of using the vast resources we are spending in a more efficient way.

Hyman Milstein, MD

Studio City

Despite the passage of healthcare reform, insurance premiums continue to rise. An obvious oversight was the lack of immediate price controls.

Several insurers reported third-quarter profits of hundreds of millions of dollars.These greedy companies raise their rates because no government agency or insurance commissioner has the backbone to rein them in.

Kim Righetti

Upland

Businesses and the environment

Re “State resisted political currents,” Business, Nov. 7

Michael Hiltzik encourages Jerry Brown to “dismantle … provisions of law that have crippled California government.” Please consider, “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.”

The failure of Proposition 23 means cap-and-trade will go forward in California. Barack Obama said in an interview when he was running for president, “Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Once again, California is leading the way — to economic oblivion.

Is that what was meant by “regain our luster as a national trendsetter”? Trendsetter? Yes. Luster? Not so much.

Roy W. Rising

Valley Village

It is mind-boggling that Hiltzik asks where the small businesses opposed to Proposition 24 were hiding.

Hundreds of small businesses signed up and were listed as members of the No on 24 coalition. They were highlighted with an interactive map on the campaign website, and many were featured in news conferences throughout the state.

In this economy, small businesses are hard-pressed to keep their doors open, let alone come up with extra money for political donations. Still, many volunteered time and energy to defeat Proposition 24.

Bill LaMarr

Anaheim

The writer is executive director of the California Small Business Alliance.

GOP leadership

Re “Republicans tussle over House post,” Business, Nov. 9

Republican House Speaker-to-be John A. Boehner should urge the selection of committee chairs who have the experience and voting records to lead the committees so important to our future. Certainly the selection to succeed Rep. Barney Frank as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee deserves

scrutiny.

Republicans and Democrats must comply with a voter mandate to pull in the reins on regressive finance reform and hideous healthcare legislation by utilizing the best of the best among them to lead the efforts against runaway government, regardless of seniority.

Lest they forget, if they fail, there will be a “tea party” movement working diligently to usher them out in 2012.

Daniel B. Jeffs

Apple Valley

Dutch woes

Re “Hate trial tests Dutch tolerance,” Nov. 8

I found this article to be extremely slanted.

Geert Wilders seems to be trying to save his open, free country from being destroyed by radical Islam, which does not respect the culture and traditions of its host countries.

The Times didn’t mention the slaying of Theo van Gogh and the exile (for her protection) of Ayaan Hirsi Ali as symptoms of a problem that Wilders is trying to address.

Barry F. Chaitin

Newport Beach

Derailing 30/10

Re “Can 30/10 escape the gridlock?” Opinion, Nov. 6

It probably won’t be the new Republican majority in the House that derails Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s innovative 30/10 transit plan (good), but some Metro board members’ insistence on adding accelerated highway projects (bad) to the coattails.

One bad apple can indeed spoil the whole barrel for all of us.

Tina Torres

Los Angeles